Plane Irresponsible

Some very irresponsible people have been arrested for trying to stop the emission of yet more greenhouse gases. This was an irresponsible thing to do because it was not a law-abiding protest. The protest inconvenienced a great many people who were on a well-earned holiday, but lacked sufficient consumer goods to spend the holiday at home. The protest also inconvenienced a lot of people who were travelling on business, owing to the chronic inability of modern technology to provide rapid means of communication. Inconveniencing such people is deeply irresponsible. There is nothing wrong with protest as long as it is law-abiding. A law-abiding protest would not have inconvenienced anybody, least of all the kind of people who make money from emitting greenhouse gases. It is not irresponsible to make money from emitting greenhouse gases. The people who make money from emitting greenhouse gases are in favour of tough debate. As far as they are concerned, we can have as tough a debate as we like until 2012, or perhaps 2020, and while we're debating they'll be metastasizing the airports yet further, and perhaps building Cloud-Boris-Land in the Thames Estuary too. Then we can have another tough debate about whether yet further airports are necessary, or whether the money should be spent on building more roads instead. It is very irresponsible not to engage in such debate, especially if one's non-participation is seen as some sort of excuse for taking direct action.